Minecraft now supports simple texture swapping

Zelda fans, Mario fans, fans of seasons and creepers and Nintendo Game Boy graphics rejoice: Minecraft now supports simple texture swapping. Markus Persson, the game’s creator, announced new features on his blog on Tuesday. And today, the ability to re-skin the game is available to everyone who updates. (Whoa, Bonus: Hitting F4 spawns a portal.)

Previously, the process of changing the look of Minecraft involved downloading textures, uncompressing files, and moving them into adjacent folders. But now it couldn’t be simpler (or kinda the same): Snag the update, grab a texture pack (in .zip form), drop it into the newly-created “texturepacks” folder, hit that fancy new “Mods and Texture Packs” button on the start screen, load the texture packs from the folder, and choose your pack. (Note: You’ll have to make sure all the main folders and .pngs are on the root level of the texture pack, not in any folder. Just zip up the contents. It should look like this before you select it all and zip it up.)

In response to Persson’s update, Handshake has compiled a list of our 5 favorite textures and provided links so you can immediately begin re-discovering Minecraft.

Frenden’s texture pack is a good, brightly-colored replacement. The colors are reminiscent of cell-shaded Nintendo games. This is the perfect skin for anybody who thinks, “Oh look at those adorable creepers. They look like they could use a hug.”Download it.

Painterly Pack is likely the most popular texture right now. The pack improves the graphics and creates a more realistic-looking Minecraft with its deep, dark colors and nice transitions. Plus, the pack comes with tons of options so you can customize the skin to make the look of your Minecraft as unique as the content.Download it.

Doku’s texture pack transforms Minecraft into a first-person role-playing game. The dark, earthy colors and the bright objects make it easier to spot loot, and with the re-designed HUDs and tools you’ll feel like you are wayfaring in a world that’s part LEGO, part Chono Trigger.Download it.

Quandary texture pack from Retribution Game Studio is a simple re-imagining of the Minecraft world: more muted colors and re-designed gear, but nothing too extreme. Quandary is the perfect amount of change, without loosing any functionality. This texture pack has one additional feature that others don’t — seasons. The pack is actually twelve different skins, one for each month, and with the Texture Rotator Mod your Minecraft can finally reflect what it looks like outside in the real world. This is a nice benefit for the Minecraft player who spends so much time playing the game they lose track of what season it is.Download it.

Minecraft forum user Nerolucien built this texture, and for die-hard Legend of Zelda fans it is a necessity. The re-skin, which has been updated a number of times, is a stellar interpretation of the greatest game series known to man. (Yeah, I said it.) This time your mission isn’t to save the Kingdom of Hyrule, it’s to build it.Download it.

For Minecraft fans interested in creating their own textures, Persson, or as he is most commonly known, Notch and Swedish game store Webhallen have announced a competition to find the best texture pack. Details can be found here. To learn how to make a texture, as always, the Minecraft forums are rife with tutorials.

If you think you know about a better texture back than one of these, let us know in the comments, otherwise just get crafting.